Just Breathe

Just Breathe…

How many times have you heard these words in your life? Usually when we’re in some sort of struggle – we’re frightened, or we’ve had a big shock, or we’re in pain. The classic scenario is a woman in labor: hoo, hoo, hee. Right?

Why does breathing help us during situations of distress? What is it about the breath that calms us, centers us, and brings us back to our bodies?

We breathe countless times each day, in and out, in and out. It’s the very first thing we do when we’re  born, and the very last thing we do before we die. Breath sustains life. We all know this; if we go without breath for more than a couple of minutes, our brain begins to shut down. How often do we actually think about this process, though?

When we take a deep breath we send a signal to our vagus nerve, which stimulates our parasympathetic nervous system. Our parasympathetic nervous system lowers our heart rate and breathing rate, relaxes our blood vessels, and puts our body into a state of calm and healing. Pretty cool, right? One deep breath is all it takes to start this process. 

Go ahead, try it right now…a slow, deep breath in…and slowly breathe out. Can you notice a shift?

But there is SO much more to it than that. When you zoom in on this process even more, the magic starts to reveal itself. When we breathe in, we’re taking in a combination of molecules we need to sustain life. Oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen. We breathe out carbon dioxide. These are invisible particles, not manifested in we-can-see-it-and-touch-it physical form. They enter our bodies through our airway and go deep into our lungs. Here’s where the alchemy happens – our lungs serve as the bridge between the unmanifest world (air) and the manifest world (the cells of our body). 

When we breathe air into our lungs, it enters these tiny little sacs deep in our lung tissue called alveoli. From there, the vital molecules are passed into the into the arterioles, then the arteries, and then carried to every cell in our physical being. Life-sustaining oxygen, magically passed from the ethereal world of unmanifest form into the very real, manifested, corporeal matter of our body.

How is this not a miracle? With every single breath, with every beat of our heart that circulates the vital molecules to our physicality, we are saying yes…yes…yes to life.

I invite you to pay attention to your breath throughout your day. Notice when you’re inclined to feel constriction, or to hold your breath. Notice what happens when you consciously take a slow, deep breath. Feel the alchemy happening in your body. Appreciate the miracle of choosing life again and again, with each breath you take.

The beauty of it is you can do this practice any time, any place. No one needs to know – you can practice deep breathing during a meeting, or even during a fight! 

Notice the shift in your physical body, and also notice the shift in those around you. Because here’s another secret about breath: it moves energy.

But that’s for another time, another post. 

For now, play with breath, with this life-sustaining force we dance with every moment of every day.

With love and respect,

Zardoya